The Eye of the Beholder
by Style Marshlovski
Summary: Kevin thinks he's nothing special, but Clyde sees differently. Fluffy Stolovan - some spoilers for "The China Probrem," "Coon vs. Coon and Friends," and "The List."


I had to take a break from my break from writing because I had a dream a few weeks ago, and a very small part of it gave me another idea that I thought would work well for Kevin and Clyde. I even decided to make a drawing to go along with the story this time; the full picture is uploaded in my deviantART gallery (the link to my DA page is on my profile).

Disclaimer: I don't own _South Park _or _Star Wars_.

* * *

It was the beginning of summer vacation and the entire eighth grade class had gathered at Token's house after school for a huge graduation party. After the girls left for the night, the boys all moved from the backyard into the living room for a giant sleepover.

"Dude, I can't believe we're going to high school next year," Stan said as they walked in through the dining room.

"I know, it totally sucks ass!" Kyle complained. "We were the big shots this year, and now we'll be right back at the bottom of the food chain. I was _this _close to becoming captain of the basketball team."

"Oh, Kahl, don't be so naïve," Cartman shook his head. "You know as well as I do that Jews can't jump."

"Shut up, Cartman! Like you could get _your_ fat ass three inches off the ground!"

"Mm-mm mph mm mm Mm-mm-mm-mm Mph mm Phm-mm Phm-mm mm mm-mm mm," Kenny mumbled under his parka.

"Ew! That's gross, Kinny!" said Cartman, while the other guys laughed at the crude joke.

"So what do you feel like doing?" Token asked. "Should we watch a movie or play video games?"

"Ooh!" Kevin piped up. "Can I go to the bathroom first?"

"Uh…sure. There's one down the hall."

"Thanks. Don't pick without me!" he ran off.

"God dammit," Cartman muttered. "Well, Token, thanks for the party. It was fun while it lasted."

"The party's over?" Clyde asked confused.

"It will be when the Jedi Master gets back."

"Why? What did Kevin do?"

"You know what he'll vote for, don't you?" Token sighed.

"How much you wanna bet he comes out wearing Stormtrooper P.J.'s?" Craig smirked.

"Don't forget about the helmet," Stan chuckled.

"So he likes _Star Wars_," Clyde shrugged. "What's the big deal? We're all fans of those movies."

"Yeah, we're fans," Kyle agreed. "They don't make up our entire existence."

"I can hear him now," said Craig: "'I can't believe George Lucas changed the film trilogy,'" he put on his best nerd voice. "'The original versions were sooo much better.'"

"No no no," Cartman laughed, "_this_ is what he'll say." He pulled the sides of his eyes back with his index fingers and stuck his front teeth out: "'Oh herro, prease! I'm-a Han Soro, captain of the Mirrennium Farcon!'"

"Dude, that's totally racist!" Kyle shouted.

"Nuh-uh!" Cartman defended. "Butters saw all those Chinese spies at P.F. Chang's, too!"

"Eric said they were gonna take over America and kill my parents!" Butters exclaimed.

"Oh Jesus!" Tweek blurted out. "My parents can't get killed! I could never fend for myself! GAH! That is way too much pressure!"

"Ha ha ha! 'I'm Kevin Storey and I rove _Star Wars_!'" Cartman continued his impersonation as some of the others stifled giggles.

"Cut it out, Cartman," Clyde said. "That's not funny."

"Aw, what's wrong, Cryde? You no rike-a Ruke Skywalker or Princess Reia?"

Suddenly, everyone else grew really serious. Clyde and Cartman turned to see why, and there was Kevin standing in the hallway with a blank expression on his face.

"I think I need a little dip in the pool," he stated simply. "Go ahead and start without me," he walked back outside almost in a trance.

Clyde shook his head his disbelief. "Are you happy now?" he looked around the room.

All of them bowed their heads in shame, except for Cartman, who stared indignantly at the ceiling.

"Maybe we should go talk to him," Token humbly suggested.

"No," said Clyde. "I'll go. I don't think he wants to be around you guys right now…and neither do I," he headed out the door.

Clyde found Kevin standing in front of the pool gate, seeming to contemplate opening it. "It's kinda hard to swim with all your clothes on, isn't it?" the brunet tried to lighten the mood.

"Probably," Kevin shrugged.

"Look, don't pay any attention to that stuff in there. You know how Cartman is."

"And the other guys?" he faced Clyde.

"You heard them, too?"

"They weren't exactly quiet about it." He gazed skyward with a sense of awe.

"What are you looking at?"

"The stars."

Clyde stood next to Kevin and stared in the same direction. "They sure are pretty tonight."

"They look so close, but they're all light-years away, some with planets of their own, maybe a lot like ours… I wonder if Bradley's on a planet orbiting one of those stars right now." Kevin sighed. "Why couldn't he take me with him? Bradley was my best friend, and traveling the cosmos has always been my dream—exploring galaxies far, far away. At least I'd be with someone who could appreciate that."

"Hey, forget what those guys said," Clyde turned to him. "I think _Star Wars _is awesome."

"That doesn't really bother me," Kevin looked down. "I'm used to people making fun of me for being a nerd. I never expected to be mocked because of my ethnicity, though," he slumped down on the grass.

"But that's just Cartman."

"I saw other people laughing under their breath at his imitation. It's just a big joke to everybody." Tears started to form under his eyes. "Why did they have to take it there?" he hiccupped. "Why do they act as if my ancestry is something to be ashamed of?" he bawled.

Clyde felt himself beginning to weep. He laid his hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I don't know," he replied in a shaky voice. Clyde hated seeing Kevin so upset; the boy had done nothing to deserve this humiliation.

"They could at least get their stereotypes right. I mean, 'Herro, prease'? Chinese dialects do use the _l _sound. But I guess that isn't important, because all Asians are the same, right?" he remarked bitterly.

Clyde decided to sit down. He removed his hand from Kevin's left shoulder and wrapped his arm around his back to the right one. Clyde saw Kevin's head start to drift toward him before stopping himself out of fear of ridicule. "It's OK," Clyde spoke softly. "I won't laugh at you."

In an instant, Kevin threw his head into Clyde's chest and broke down sobbing. Clyde patted his back softly. "That's it, let it all out. It's better to cry than to hold it in; believe me, I've had a lot of practice with that."

After a little while, Kevin's sobs began to die down. "The funny thing is I don't _feel _different from everyone else. Inside, I just feel like any other average American kid. But when I see myself in the mirror, then look around at the other kids, I realize I don't look like _anybody _in this town. I _am _different."

"Well, who wants to be like everyone else, anyway? That wouldn't be any fun if we were all the same."

"Easy for you to say. Everybody likes you, Clyde: you play all kinds of sports, but you have a sensitive side, too, and you're friendly to everyone, no matter their popularity. Not only that, but you have looks to match: you're tall and muscular, your hair's a perfect chestnut brown, and you have the best smile of anybody I've ever seen. It's no wonder all the girls voted you the cutest guy in class back in fourth grade. I'll never be anything like you."

"But Kevin, you're awesome in your own ways. You always pour your whole heart into everything you do, whether it's schoolwork or cosplay, and you're probably the smartest kid I know. And as for your looks, you've got nothing to complain about. Your body is small and sleek, like some kind of graceful dancer or something, and your hair is pitch black like the night sky. And you do this adorable thing where your eyes squint just a tiny bit when you laugh… those are definitely some good-looking qualities you've got going for you."

Kevin stared at Clyde in shock. "You really think I'm good-looking?"

"Absolutely…and that's coming from the cutest guy in class," he joked.

Kevin laughed and squinted his eyes.

"There it is," Clyde smiled and lightly traced the laugh lines around Kevin's eyes with his thumbs. Then his hands slowly moved farther along his face until he was running his fingers through his raven locks. Kevin looked like a deer caught in headlights as Clyde leaned in close and kissed his forehead. "Don't ever try to be someone you're not," Clyde whispered. "I like you just the way you are."

Kevin nodded and let himself melt into a tender hug. "I didn't think it was possible," he said.

"What's that?" Clyde asked.

"Watching the original versions of the classic trilogy isn't the best experience I've ever had."

* * *

I know Clyde wasn't really voted the cutest boy, but most of the guys never found out that the list was fake.

I hope you liked this story, because after all the hard work of writing it and drawing the picture, I'm completely burned out on fanfiction forever ;_; So to all my readers who've supported me throughout my time on FF, I guess there's just one thing left to say—

APRIL FOOLS! I can't get scared off _that _easily ;P Yes, the drawing and writing were hard work, but I enjoyed them thoroughly XD


End file.
